Authentic vs Traditional
Sally at Unbravegirl wrote a post this past Sunday about her search for the “authentic” travel experience in Thailand. It is a good article and the comments are just as interesting. This post grows out of a comment I left there; and might make more sense if you read her article first. I come to pretty much the same conclusion as her and most of the commenters, but I was interested to see what would come out of my mind when put to that subject.
The Problem
The concept of searching for authentic travel experiences pops up across the travel blogging world a fair amount. There are stories of a group of travelers shunning anyone that happens to follow the road when they are way off-the-beaten track finding authentic experiences. The group that assumes that anything clean or even trendy is not authentic. They are happy only when drinking some unknown brew(what is that floating in there again?) in a tavern down some dark alley in a city that no one else has ever heard of. Anyone not willing to suffer for travel is not being authentic and just being a tourist (the last said with a sneer as an insult). Thankfully I’ve never seen this attitude in the wild.
Perhaps another aspect of the search for the authentic travel experience is the disappointment that Sally describes looking for an authentic village and seeing park benches and pepsi among the mud huts. This disappointment I do know well. Looking for an experience and feeling that it is ruined by the “modern tourist marketing machine” can cause even a hearty traveler to get jaded. At times like that I begin to think that the aforementioned travelers could be right. That the only authentic experiences are to be found outside of any tourist infrastructure. Though given the times that I have trucked about in the hinterlands lost just looking to get where I thought I wanted to be, I wonder if that is even worth it.
Traditionally we were quite authentic.
My addition to this debate is that “authenticity” should be swapped out for the word “traditional”. When I have the authenticity urge, what I am usually searching for is a view into the traditions and culture of another place. The main definition I found for authentic in the online Oxford dictionary has to do with not being a copy. An authentic experience is through that idea only one that isn’t a copy. The village in Sally’s story is then indeed authentic; not a copy of a village built in a Florida swamp all pristinely rundown. A lot of the disappointment comes from mismatched expectations. An expectation that authentic means as well that feeling that I am calling traditional. It is implicit in the way I would think if I saw a brochure about visiting an authentic village. I would say to myself. “self. We expect to see huts built in a traditional manner and people doing traditional crafts.” These are expectations that hurt when they are met by a gift shop in front of a monument or railing in a ruin. This modernity intrudes into our carefully built mental pictures labeled “quaint”.
The funny part is sometimes the in-authentic is exactly what we are looking for. I grew up in the southern US and there are plenty of old civil war battlefields and colonial ruins around. I know, my dad took us to a lot of them. Most are just boring. Old Salem is a place that I remember fondly. It is a part of Winston-Salem that was settled by Moravians. A section is maintained as if it was the town of the colonial times and populated by actors(?) as townspeople. It is perhaps not authentic, as I imagine a fare amount of it has been rebuilt. It does however give the traditional feeling and it is great fun to go to especially at Christmastime. Colonial Williamsburg is another example. These places go out of their way to show the history and traditions of a place; but in the end they are museums not reality. That doesn’t make them unsatisfying, pretty much the opposite.
Historic Reality?
The search for authentic often seems to synonymous with the search for the “unspoiled”. Looking for the part of a place that has not degenerated under the mass of tourism. A place that still clings to their traditional ways and knows little to nothing of the outside world. A Land of the Lost in the middle of civilization. Bah says I. I would like to think that looking for traditional should be the search for culture. Culture definitely has one leg in history, but it also has a big leg in the present. What people do now with their culture is as traditional and authentic as what they used to do, just living. Living history seems weird. Either it is the past or it isn’t. Living museum too can fall here.
I want to learn and understand a history that I didn’t have to live through. I will tour famous places like the Acropolis and dodge the masses of tourists following their multi-colored umbrellas and attempt to take in the place. Talk to most people that live in a very historical city and I would imagine they don’t notice it so much. Our market is around a 700 year old cathedral that most people in the market ignore. That doesn’t make it any less a part of the town or the culture.
Maybe some of this is the fascination of zoos versus wildlife safaris. Zoos package the animal seeing experience. Animals are presented in a facsimile of their habitats and gawked at by kids with balloons. Even wildlife shows distance you with the TV screen. There is a counter urge to see things in person close up as unspoiled as possible. To have nothing between you and the experience, no TV and no bars. Truly the animals are no less authentically animal in a zoo than in the wild and really a TV show probably gets better shots than you would see sitting in a jeep. But this doesn’t keep people from wanting that “real” animal experience.
Tripping the Light Fantastic
The young people’s daily tradition in my town here in Germany is to clog the McDonald’s so full that I couldn’t go even if I wanted to. Even the place I think of as the most traditional in town plays music from the 80’s and the waitresses still put the orders into hand-held computers. Try looking for a quiet authentic place in the middle of the World Cup. I didn’t realize half of the places in town even had TVs. In fact they probably didn’t, and probably don’t anymore. So using the original idea of searching for a place that fits your own definition of authentic and thus shunning all of the places that have TV’s and shouting people while muttering “rowdy tourists” under your breath, then you would be missing out on actual tradition and cultural experience.
If the aim is to go to a place that no one else of your friends has been to so that you can feel special and unique, then go for it. Those are great stories and I look forward to hearing them. I however am looking for experiences that link me with people that actually live in the places that I visit. I am a traveler not a local, I’ll grant that, but I want to belong, even if only for a week. So I go to the same little bakery every morning and order random things oozing different fillings from the case only by pointing from an old woman who speaks no English. This to me makes me feel connected. I don’t care if it is on a main road and every traveler I meet that has been there remembers her, I like that experience. I want to experience culture in the wild, no TC and no bars between me and real culture.
Was there a Point?
Well, um yes, there should be. My rambling will not stop anyone from slogging through leech infested rivers to a remote town of mud huts for a drink of fermented milk. I expect everyone is going to go looking for the experiences that they want anyway. It’s been said before, but we should probably stop using the word “authentic”. I put forth that “traditional” is a better description of what that urge seems to be. But even that falls short when I look at the experiences that I go out seeking. I want to be a part of a culture and a place for a few days. To feel like I belong. But dammit I still want to see all the sights and cool things to see; even if they are touristy and require van trips and english speaking guides. I just don’t want to fool myself into think that it is anymore than what it is: a set of travel experiences.
Scotland Bustour » Grounded Traveler
January 17, 2011 @ 7:16 pm
[…] tours through them. Really this was a highlight of my trip in Edinburgh. For me this is the kind of museum style authenticity that feels fun to walk through. The tours are small groups due to the cramped places, so you get a […]
January 1, 2011 @ 11:34 am
I think some of it is also Western selfishness on our part – we want things kept ‘authentic’ and pristine and quaint, yet there we are with our modern gadgets, having flown on our modern planes, from our modern houses that are not the same as our grandparents. I am not saying we (as in the general ‘we’) should not do what we can to save indigenous cultures, but to expect the rest of the world to live an essentially backward life for our entertainment while we take advantage of every change towards a ‘modern’ world is unfair.
Note – I am just writing in broad generalisations about the masses of people who travel, not you or any other commenters Andrew! Great post.
January 2, 2011 @ 2:13 pm
Great comment Natalia. I wanted to write something in that direction, but was a little scared how it would be taken. Good on you.
I wonder if there is a sense in the western mind that knows that not everything in our modern march toward progress that is good. That we yearn for a ‘simpler’ life and time somehow. Even though hardly any of us would enjoy living in this simpler time without internet or planes..
It seems a bit linked to that concept of museums. We have our canned/buildinged museums that present things. For most this is fine, but you get a traveler that urges to go see stuff. They want to see an uncanned version of a museum; but still seem to have the idea that it should be like the museum. Without regard so much of the people living there.
December 31, 2010 @ 2:49 pm
most places have the iconic location that is a must see, your first visit to paris, must see – the eiffel tower, cliche yes, must see yes, traditional or authentic or both?
January 2, 2011 @ 2:09 pm
There is a point to this that certain things are must see. Some stuff is touristy and popular for a reason. Though not to let it overwhelm a trip.
I guess I didn’t think about this ‘must see’ sightseeing as a part of the authentic versus traditional. If anything the sites are sometimes neither. The Eiffel Tower was built before 1900, but in that time has become intertwined with the image of Paris. Climbing up a tower doesn’t strike me though as either this idea of the experience travel being authentic or traditional. It is an interesting idea. Thanks, i’ll have to ponder more.
December 31, 2010 @ 1:55 am
Love this post. I am notorious (several people have pointed it out to me) for going to ‘discover’ a new place and eating at the same place every day. I love the connection more than sampling every cafe in town. I like to see the smile on someone’s face when they recognize me and catch bits of their life story. At the end of the week, hopefully I can string these bits of info together and feel like I’ve really connected with someone. I went to a small village in Laos and ate every single meal for 5 days at the same restaurant. That’s my type of experience.
January 2, 2011 @ 2:00 pm
I’m glad you do this too. I have done this mostly in Italy, but is my habit when I am in a place more than a few days. I totally agree it makes you feel like some sort of connection
December 28, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Oh, indeed yes. Well put. I’ve reached the point in my life when I think that pretty much anything is authentic, in its own way. Even a copy of something is an authentic copy. Too many layers to that onion. Have you read Gerald the Bear’s discussion on this? It was prompted by my weeks and weeks worth of conversations with Unbravegirl on this subject. I think we all burst around the same time.
Gerald the Bear’s take on things: http://www.ephemeraanddetritus.com/2010/12/28/aint-i-a-bear-gerald-the-bear-tackles-authenticity-and-place/
December 29, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
Thanks for the link Mary Anne. That is brilliantly written.
It is a fascinating subject. The mental attitudes that people take traveling with them. Especially when you try to consider that these are the attitudes they walk around with all the time, not just traveling.
A Sunny Christmas | Ali's Adventures
December 28, 2010 @ 5:39 am
[…] Traveler – Authentic vs Traditional Andy writes about the ongoing debate of finding and experiencing “authentic” travel […]
December 28, 2010 @ 2:19 am
Andrew,
I like this post a lot. I think I tried to say a lot of this stuff in my piece but never got around to it because I was too busy rambling and whining about villages selling Pepsi.
I especially like what you say about expectations. I think the reason why I was so disappointed by my traditional-village-that-sells-Pepsi experience was because it wasn’t what I had been expecting. Plus, I was new to Thailand and hadn’t heard similar stories of tourists being duped into going to these fake villages so I didn’t even know these things existed. Now, I’d actually be curious to go back to one of these places just to see how I feel about it now that I know what I’m getting into (but I probably won’t… as it’s expensive & I’d rather spend my money on cookies… yep, I’m all about the authentic experience!).
A year or so ago, I went to a small town in Japan that is sometimes referred to as “The Colonial Williamsburg of Japan.” The town is full of quaint old buildings and traditional restaurants and such. This being Japan it was also full of tourist buses, parking lots and vending machines. But because I had lived in Japan for a while and knew what to expect (it’s pretty much a given that anywhere you go in Japan, there will be a vending machine), I didn’t care. In fact, I loved it. My friend and I took pictures of the “Ye Olde Parking Lot” and the “Ye Olde Vending Machine” and the “Ye Olde Hello Kitty Shop.” Talk about authentic!
What was MY point? (Loved that sub-heading in your post… I should start doing that!). I’m not sure. Plus, I think you already said it better than me.
P.S. Love the photo caption, too. Hilarious!
December 29, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you liked my take on your subject. Thank you for the inspiration.
Yeah, i think expectations figures really heavily into the authentic debate. It ends up affecting how we see things. Poverty exists in most places, why it is quaint sometimes and disturbing or worse ignorable in others?
That place in japan sounds awesome. I love the idea of seeing Japanese tour in their own country. It strikes me as fun even though i don’t know why. OO i saw a video about a vending machine that sells live(!!) crab. I think it was Japan, but could have been China.
I like doing the subheadings.. it means I can add some humor. It kind of comes from some half-remembered watchings of Rocky and Bulwinkle.
December 30, 2010 @ 7:15 am
In case Google didn’t answer your question, the crabs in a vending machine were in Nanjing, China- not far from me here in Shanghai. China blows my mind sometimes, and not for any of the picture postcard reasons!
December 30, 2010 @ 6:21 pm
I didn’t get to googling it, but thanks for the update. It is freaky. I remember a time when I was blown away that you could buy memory sticks and blank CD Roms in the vending machine at the university library.
December 30, 2010 @ 11:39 pm
You can? Wow. I’ve been away from modern academia for far too long… here we have chalkboards and the kids scratch notes on slate. Just kidding. About the slate. Kind of.
January 2, 2011 @ 1:58 pm
Yeah I actually would kind of think that the CDs are gone, but maybe not as some of the professors wanted ‘turnins’ still instead of email. That was my masters degree in 2006 when we saw the vending machines. It was actually a lifesaver too. We were having laptop issues. I still remembering trying to find a spot where we could sit down and still get to the wifi in the library. I think we ended up in a hallway because al the tables were taken.
December 28, 2010 @ 2:17 am
Well said. The “touristy” things are touristy for a reason, they’re great things to see or experience. I understand the need to experience something unique that maybe no one has experienced before, whether it’s for bragging rights or simply just to do something that doesn’t come with expectations. But the important thing to do is whatever makes you feel good about the trip you’re on and not worry about how on or off the beaten path it is. We’re all looking for different things when we travel, and everyone comes away with something different from even the same destinations.
December 29, 2010 @ 6:36 pm
Yeah some things are popular for a reason, usually because they are good/interesting. This isn’t necessarily the same as being “touristy”, but I get what you mean.